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9th Dec 2023

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  1. How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis
  2. Many problems to solve in Dubai — honesty about them is good
  3. Sudanese fleeing violence find no haven in Egypt or EU
  4. How should EU reform the humanitarian aid system?
  5. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  6. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  7. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  8. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?
Crunch point in talks on EU gig workers' employment status

The 'presumption of employment' crux continues to hold up agreement on a final text to improve conditions for digital platform workers. On Thursday, the EU institutions will meet again on the technical aspects of the agreement.

Tech industry now spends €113m a year lobbying Brussels

Tech companies have increased their lobbying power and are now spending some €113m a year to influence EU decision-making, up more than 16 percent since 2021, according to a report from NGOs Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyFacts.

Opinion

'Pay or okay?' — Facebook & Instagram vs the EU

Since last week, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta corporation is forcing its European users to either accept their intrusive privacy practices — or pay €156 per year to access Facebook and Instagram without tracking advertising.

Platform workers could face 'robo-firing' under EU's AI rules

The platform workers directive, currently under negotiation, could create "ambiguity" on the processing of personal data by the platform and would also violate the GDPR by including the use of so-called robo-firing, research shows.

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No mass scanning in EU online child-abuse bill, MEPs agree

MEPs agreed on new rules for online service and hosting providers to improve the protection of children online, but also to ensure the privacy of internet users — a balance that was missing from the EU Commission's proposal.

EU reveals 10 'critical tech' in bid to de-risk from China

The EU Commission published a list of 10 technologies with the potential to: undermine peace and security, violate human rights, or harm the EU's interests. The next step is to assess the risks, and then focus on mitigation measures.

EU lists six tech giants as 'gatekeepers' under new law

A total of 22 "core platform services" provided by these six tech gatekeepers now have until March 2024 to comply with strict new EU rules — aimeed to promote fair competition and give users more power over their devices.

AI will destroy more female jobs than male, study finds

About four percent of global female employment is subject to potential automation through generative AI technologies, compared to only 1.4 percent of male employment. The trend is even more pronounced in high-income countries, a new study reveals.

Opinion

After the Scott Morton storm, the fight is on against Big Tech

Was the rejection of an American as EU Commission's chief competition economist simply "nationalist crap"? No, there were five good reasons to reject Fiona Scott Morton — and now there is everything to play for in breaking up Big Tech.

Opinion

The human cost of AI in EU-Africa's migration surveillance

Border management has become a full-fledged business sponsored by the EU taxpayer. But surveillance technologies deployed in north Africa for fighting human trafficking, smuggling or anti-terrorism are often used by authoritarian governments to curtail civic space.

EU gig workers compromise dubbed ‘a disaster for workers’

After several attempts to reach a common position, the EU Council could finally reach an agreement on the platform workers' rules at the upcoming ministerial meeting — but disagreements over the employment status of these workers remain sharp.

Opinion

The EU needs to foster tech — not just regulate it

The EU's ambition to be a digital superpower stands in stark contrast to the US — but the bigger problem is that it remains far better at regulation than innovation, despite decades of hand-wringing over Europe's technology gap.

Predicting migration: the opaque science behind AI technologies

European states and international organisations have developed technologies to detect migration patterns and predict the number of people from third countries seeking asylum in the EU. But doubts have been raised about the effectiveness and desirability of using predictive technologies.

Column

EU lobbying clean-up — what happened to that?

Six months after Qatargate, as institutional inertia and parliamentary privileges weigh in, the sense of gravity and collective resolve have all but disappeared. MEPs show little enthusiasm for reform of the rules that today allow them significant outside paid activities.

MEPs push for world's toughest rules on AI

The aim is "to avoid a controlled society based on AI, instead to make AI support more freedom and human development, not a securitarian nightmare" a key MEP on the file said.

EU lawmakers 'hold breath' on eve of AI vote

European lawmakers regulating the risks of artificial intelligence are likely to face resistance from EU states ahead of negotiations later this year and possibly even among their peers ahead of a plenary vote.

Opinion

The 'Fediverse' — an old key to a new internet?

It's high time we escaped the barbed-wire-fenced private domains of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. You don't need to search long for a key — at least if you know where to look.

Column

GPTChat could be 21st century Goethe's Sorcerer's Apprentice

Some argue that these are merely language models working with probabilities, that they have no human intelligence. But users do not care how these models generate language. They perceive it as human-like and they will often perceive it as authoritative.

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